cranberry pomegranate dip

This is one of my favorite seasonal dishes. I got the recipe from my cousin a few years back and I make it as many times as I can get away with during the holidays! Doesn't it look festive with all that red and green?

Cranberry Pomegranate Dip

3/4 cup cranberries, finely chopped

1 cup pomegranate seeds

2 T. cilantro, chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

2 green onions, chopped

1/4 cup sugar

1 T. fresh lemon juice

dash of ginger 

1 block of cream cheese, softened

Mix all the above ingredients except for cream cheese. Pour over cream cheese and serve with your favorite crackers. 

What is one of your favorite holiday dishes? Please share! 

homemade oreo's with peppermint cream cheese frosting

Homemade Oreo's with Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting

Cookies:

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1 t. baking soda

1/4 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup plus 2 T. butter, softened

1 egg 

Frosting:

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 t. vanilla

2 T. butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

a few drops of peppermint extract 

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. On low speed, beat in butter and egg until well mixed. Put dough in the fridge for at least 20 minutes. Roll dough out by rounded teaspoons and indent slightly with your fingers. Bake for 6-8 minutes and let cookies cool completely. Meanwhile, whisk all frosting ingredients together until light and fluffy. Put the frosting between two cookies and enjoy! 

Ginger Cookies

Now that it's fall, I want to be in the kitchen all day. Breads, soups, cookies, anything that has to be baked and simmered. I ordered The Family Flavor cookbook recently and have tried several recipes... all have been so good! I made these one weekend and we devoured them. Usually ginger cookies aren't my favorite, but these were so soft and chewy. I'll definitely be making them again! 

Ginger Cookies

from The Family Flavor

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 t. ground ginger

1 t. baking soda

3/4 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground cloves

1/4 t. ground nutmeg

1/4 t. salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened 

1 cup sugar, plus more for rolling

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

Set oven to 350. Combine flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside. Mix butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and molasses and mix well. Add flour mixture. Pour a small amount of sugar into a small bowl. Portion dough into small balls and roll into sugar. Set on baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then move to cooling rack.

double chocolate banana bread

Remember how I used to post recipes on the blog? Yeah, me neither. Cooking has slowed down a little bit over the summer, but really it's just difficult to pull out the camera at dinner time when there are a dozen other things to do to get the food on the table and everyone's tummies happy. I really love cooking, baking and photographing food so I still try to sneak it in when I can. 

I'm kind of over summer, so in an effort to make it feel like fall in my kitchen I made some quick bread. I've made this recipe a few times and it has always turned out. 

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1/4 t. salt
• 2 T. cocoa powder 
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 t. vanilla 
• 1 cup mashed banana (about 2 medium bananas)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup chocolate chips 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two mini loaf pans. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the vanilla, banana, and sour cream. Gently mix in the dry ingredients and chocolate chips until well incorporated. Pour batter into pans and bake for 45-55 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, then turn out to cool completely. 

now you see it, now you don't.

I love to eat. These Eggs Benedict I snagged down in Monterey were delicious!

tartine + mission dolores

San Francisco is really growing on me. Awhile ago I headed up to the city and hung out in the Mission District. I started my day at Tartine (does that surprise anyone? No?) and walked up the block to the Mission Dolores. It was beautiful!

my favorite way to eat asparagus

For a long time I didn't think I liked asparagus. But, like most foods, you just need to play around with it and figure out how to cook it well and to your liking. I've learned that I like pretty much any vegetable if it's roasted. Right now I'm kind of obsessed with asparagus. This is my absolute favorite way to eat it. I can almost down a whole pan by myself. Here's how I do it:

Take one bunch of asparagus and place in a roasting dish. Drizzle with olive oil. Add the zest and juice from one lemon. Sprinkle with a little salt & pepper and roast in a pre-heated 425 degree oven for 20-ish minutes (I like my vegetables soft... cook for less time if you want them to still have a bit of crunch). Go ahead and inhale them.

my latest project

I like projects. It feels good to be working towards something. Since becoming a stay at home mom, I feel like I have to make up projects to keep me motivated and keep my days interesting. No more professors assigning reading or papers over here!

Right now I am compiling a family recipe book. I grew up going to my grandma and grandpa's house every Sunday for dinner. I have such fond memories of hanging out in the living area waiting for dinner to be ready, serving up my own plates and finally graduating to the "grown-up" table. I feel strongly about tradition and sometimes get ridiculously sentimental about it. I wanted to create something meaningful for me and (hopefully) my family. I've spent this past month or so compiling recipes and now I'm making & photographing a few of them. Here is one of the first I tried and it was SO good. I may or may not have eaten an entire loaf by myself!

Banana Bread 

from cousin Kim 

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 mashed bananas

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

2 cups flour

1 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

1/2 cup buttermilk 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter, sugar, bananas, eggs & vanilla together. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda & salt. Alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the banana mixture. Pour into greased loaf pans. Bake a large loaf pan for 1 hour, smaller loaves 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

brunch

One of my good friends had a birthday last month! We had a small get together to celebrate. I decided to bust out the real plates and silverware for the occasion. That's the sign of a fancy gathering at our house. I made strata and I really loved how it turned out. It was very simple and I'm going to keep the recipe in our rotation.

Spinach and Cheddar Strata

from Martha Stewart 

Ingredients: 

1 t. olive oil

10 ounces spinach

1/2 baguette, one day old, cut into cubes

5 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup whole milk

1 1/4 cups grated white cheddar 

s&p 

Directions:

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add spinach and stir constantly until wilted. Remove from heat. In a 8x8 pan, layer spinach and bread cubes. In a bowl, mix eggs, milk, cheese and s&p to taste. Pour egg mixture over bread and spinach. Bake at 400 for 35-40 minutes until cheese is bubbly on top. Enjoy!

mastering the art of french cooking

 A couple weeks ago I took a cooking class with some friends. It was Julia Child's 100th birthday so they were offering a class featuring some of her recipes. We made cheese souffle, sea scallops with a bechamel and veloute sauce, asparagus with hollandaise and a chocolate mousse. It was lots of fun! So fun that we even re-created the meal later for our husbands. It actually turned out well!

I had wanted to take a cooking class for a long time. I love getting out, learning something new. I'm glad I finally did it.

I will say one thing though... French cooking requires A LOT of whisking. If I keep it up I will definitely have a very strong right arm.

blueberry lemon cakes

I found this recipe in one of my favorite food magazines, Martha Stewart Everyday Food. I made it once, ripped it out and it's stayed in my recipe book ever since. It's delicious, one of my favorites. 

Blueberry Lemon Cakes

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan

2 cups flour, plus more for pans

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided

1 T. lemon zest 

1/2 cup plus 2 T. lemon juice

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 t. vanilla

1/4 t. baking powder

1/4 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

2 eggs

6 ounces blueberries 

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour four mini loaf pans, set aside. Combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until thickened, about 4-6 minutes. Let stand while making cakes. Meanwhile combine heavy cream, 2 T. lemon juice and vanilla, set aside. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside. Beat butter, lemon zest and remaining 1 cup sugar with mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Reduce speed to low, add eggs one at a time. Beat in flour mixture in three additions, alternating with cream mixture beginning and ending with the flour. Gently fold in blueberries with a rubber spatula. Divide batter evenly among pans, bake 40-50 minutes. 

Transfer pans to wire racks and brush tops with lemon syrup. Let stand for 15 minutes. Turn cakes out from pans and brush all over with remaining syrup. Let cool completely. Cut and serve! 

Bruges

We've heard a lot about Bruges, but just barley managed to make it there this last trip to Utah. It was so good! I got the waffles with fresh peaches and whipped cream, Trevor got the machine gun sandwich and we had fries to share. If you're ever in downtown SLC, it's worth the stop. We'll definitely be back.

make your own taco seasoning

I love finding little shortcuts in the kitchen. Things that save me time, things that save me money. This week I made my own taco seasoning. I needed some for a dinner I had planned and thought, Hey, how hard can this be? After a quick google search I found my answer. Easy peasy. I had all the spices, save one, in my pantry already. Bam! Take that, taco seasoning packet!

Taco Seasoning 

makes the equivalent of 1 packet 

1 T. chili powder

1/4 t. garlic powder

1/4 t. onion powder

1/4 t. ground oregano

1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes (optional... this makes it REALLY spicy so you may want to cut back or omit all together)

1/2 t. paprika

1 1/2 t. cumin

1 t. salt

1 t. pepper 

I'm planning on making a big patch and keeping it with the spices. 

What are some of your favorite kitchen shortcuts?

peaches & cream bundt cake

taken on instagram

Who else thinks of My Big Fat Greek Wedding when it comes to bundt cakes?

I had this recipe sitting in my cookbook for a few weeks. I wanted to try it, but I just can't justify making a huge cake for just Trevor and me. We had a potluck with some friends in the park this week and it was the perfect time to try this recipe out. It was SO good. I'll definitely be making this again!

Peaches and Cream Bundt Cake

from Martha Stewart Everyday 

Ingredients:

3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature 

3 cups plus 2 T. flour

1 t. baking soda

1 t. fine salt

4 peaches - peeled, pitted and diced small

2 1/4 cups sugar 

6 large eggs, room temperature 

1 1/4 cups sour cream 

1 1/4 t. vanilla 

1 1/4 t. ground cinnamon 

Directions: 

Heat oven to 350. Butter and flour a 14-cup bundt pan and set aside. Whisk together 3 cups flour, baking soda and salt, set aside. Toss peaches with remaining 2 T. flour to coat, set aside. In a large bowl, beat 2 sticks butter and 2 cups sugar on medium-high until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. With mixer on low, alternate adding the flour mixture and the sour cream until combined. Gently fold in peaches and vanilla and pour batter into the pan. Bake for an hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile, melt remaining stick of butter. In a seperate bowl, mix cinnamon and remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Gently coat the cake in butter, sprinkling with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Serve! 

naan

Oh, naan. How I love you. How my husband loves you! We make naan a lot in this house... every time we make Indian food, or we use it to make mini "pizza" or tostadas with hummus, greens, olives, red peppers... whatever we feel like. 

Even though my luck with yeast breads is still a little hit and miss, naan has come out every time!

Naan 

from sheena!

1/2 cup warm water

2 t. yeast

1 t. sugar

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 t. salt

1/4 cup canola oil

1/3 cup plain yogurt 

1 egg

Mix water, yeast and sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes until foamy. Add remaining ingredients. Knead until dough is soft and pliable. Cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour. Divide dough into 8 pieces and roll out into circles on floured surface. Cook (like pancakes!) on a hot griddle drizzled with olive oil. Serve warm. 

fiesta chicken

This has become one of our favorite recipes. I usually have everything for it on hand, and it can work with tacos, burritos, burrito bowls, anything really! This time we used it in tacos! 

Slow-Cooker Fiesta Chicken

1 lb. chicken

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup salsa

1 T. chili powder

s&p to taste 

Cook on low for 8 hours. Voila!

We used homemade tortillas, corn, tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, cheese and cilantro to make it a meal. Soooo good!

Have a happy memorial day weekend!

quinoa

Quinoa. I heard about it awhile ago, and then it took me even longer to learn how to say it (it's pronounced keen-wa). We tried it for the first time last week and we are now big fans! Below is the recipe we used. It was really simple and very healthy. Give it a go! 

Quinoa with Corn and Beans

Ingredients:

1 t. canola oil

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 cup uncooked quinoa 

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 t. ground cumin

1/4 t. cayenne pepper (I think I might use less next time, it was a little on the spicy side) 

s&p to taste

1 cup frozen corn kernels

1 can of beans (we had kidney on hand)

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute for 5 or so minutes. Mix in quinoa and cover with vegetable broth. Season with the cumin, cayenne pepper, s&p. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in frozen corn until heated through. Add beans and cilantro. Enjoy! 

Any other quinoa recipes you've tried and liked? I need some more!

radish

Why, hello. 

Yes, I'm still alive. It's been a whirlwind around here! My trip to Utah was successful (although I was hoping to sneak in more naps!) and now I'm just waiting for all the film to come back... so, in the meantime let's talk about food!

I've been super lazy about my food photos and recipes lately. It started with the move. I wasn't even cooking for a few weeks and then it was more like survival-mode cooking than anything else. Then it was dark when we ate dinner. Now I have a toddler pulling at my pant legs, whining because I won't let him stick his hand in the boiling pot of water. Oh, it's so tough being a toddler. 

My goal is to get back into my food photos in the next few weeks. I'm not making any promises, but here's to hoping. Maybe a few phone photos will sneak in...

Until then, enjoy these radishes! 

can i be a cool blogger now that I've gone to sprinkles?

In order to be a cool blogger, you must love cupcakes. Pretty cupcakes with fancy decor. You must go to cupcake shops and take photos. 

Can I get my certificate now, please?

cookies!

 This week I decided to get back on the exercise train. I had been running most days in Philly and while my efforts were still pathetic and feeble, I WAS DOING IT. Then, we moved. And all my efforts died. This week, though, I bought a jogging stroller (thank you, craigslist) and have gone running most every day. 

Can I just say how unfair it is how difficult it is to get in shape and how easy it is to get out? It's a cosmic joke. 

Anyhow, since I'm back exercising, I naturally made cookies. It's almost Valentines day and I had just bought some cookie cutters so I put them to good use. I had this recipe last year and I LOVED the almond flavor the cookies had. Try it, you'll like it.

Sugar Cookies:
from Annie's Eats


1 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 t. almond extract
1 t. vanilla
1 t. salt
2 1/2 cups flour


Cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, beat well. Add egg, almond extract, vanilla, salt and flour. Beat well. Chill dough in fridge for at least 4 hours. Divide dough into thirds, working with one while the others stay in the fridge. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thick. Cut with cookie cutters. Put cookies on parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Cookies should not brown.

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 T. milk
desired food coloring

Cream the butter for about 3 minutes. Add powdered sugar, then milk. You can adjust the amount of powdered sugar or milk to reach desired consistency. Frost your cookies and admire your work!